Darren Bryan's last words to his girlfriend were 'I have a great big f***ing lorry behind me' before being killed in a collision in June last year

She said that the couple had talking about "anything and everything" during the phone call.

She said her boyfriend was having problems with his van, telling her: "I have my foot to the floor and it is only doing 40mph.

"He then said to me "I have a great big f****ing lorry behind me."

Prosecutor Stephen Kemp, who read out Toni's statement, added: "She thought the call had ended due to signal loss, so she sent him a text message saying 'are you okay babe' and later rang his phone but didn't get a reply."

Mr Bryan, from Forest Town, Notts, was killed instantly in the horror crash.

Mr Kemp clarified that it was not clear if it was defendant Paul Bury's vehicle that Bryan was referring to at the time.

He said: "What we do know, because Mr Bryan was travelling at this reduced speed, he had turned on his hazard warning lights to alert other road users that something was amiss.

"He also had his dipped headlights on, so his rear night lights were on as well."

Bury is currently on trial at the Nottingham Crown Court accused of causing death by dangerous driving, a charge that he has denied.